Mount Lorette (19 Oct 2024) 6 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2024 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 42 | 53 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 69 | 87 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| American Goshawk | 1 | 13 | 13 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 10 | 18 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Golden Eagle | 4 | 1845 | 2108 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Merlin | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Unknown Raptor | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Total: | 6 | 2016 | 2339 |
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 11:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 3.25 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynn Macintosh |
Visitors:
15 people stopped to talk
Weather:
It was a windy day with gusts from the SW reaching 35 km/h at ground level and 135 at ridge level. It didn’t feel very cold as the temperature was warm for the time of year, between 9 and 11 C. In the morning, cloud cover was 60-80% cumulus, stratus and altocumulus, with dark stratocumulus clinging to the Kananaskis Range to the west. Around noon that system crossed the western ridges, bringing rain into the valley. The count was concluded at 12:15 PM as ridge visibility began to deteriorate. I lingered in the area for a few more hours in case the weather broke, but visibility in the Kananaskis Valley didn’t improve.
Raptor Observations:
The count was 4 unaged Golden Eagles, 1 juvenile American Goshawk and 1 small unidentified raptor. The Golden Eagles were spotted over Mt. Lorette where they kited on updrafts to gain enough elevation that they didn’t need to use the Fisher Range south of Lorette, flying very high down the valley instead. The Goshawk and the unidentified raptor were using the eastern ridges, much lower than the eagles.
Non-raptor Observations:
6 Common Ravens, 1 Boreal Chickadee, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 2 American Dippers, 1 Varied Thrush, 2 Pine Siskins, and 1 White-tailed Deer.
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
